ELMO@db1.cc.rochester.edu (08/26/90)
We've been generating a lot of steam about vaccine viruses lately. Some of those who support the idea want to back it up by the analogy between computer viruses and human viruses. Critics of the idea have pointed out that the vaccine against a virus is adminstered with consent, which is true. However an even more fundamental point is that biological viruses evolve under natural constraints. Computer viruses, however, evolve under the divine intervention of human beings. So unless we are willing to accept that there are deities affecting the evolution biological viruses, the analogy breaks down. Yes I know the viral-based vaccines are engineered by humans. But in the case of the "live" ones, they go on and evolve by themselves, as opposed to computer vaccine viruses which would probably evolve by tampering alone. Eric Cabot elmo@uordbv.bitnet Department of Biology elmo@db1.cc.rochester.edu University of Rochester elmo@uhura.cc.rochester.edu Director, Harry Faversham Memorial Institute for Computer Dollar Incineration